Assistants and Deputies

When the ACAO Serves as Acting CAO or Other Key Roles

Whether you’re “riding up” (serving as the acting CAO) or “riding down” (filling in for a key employee), the ACAO should keep these things in mind.

BY JEFF WECKBACH

At times, it may feel as though the “A” in ACAO stands for “adaptable.”

“Riding up” is a common turn of phrase for most individuals in the Fire Service. This expression is used to designate the individual who is acting as the supervisor for the day and is ultimately responsible for the unit’s actions and incident response.

The person riding up could be a firefighter/paramedic serving as a lieutenant, a captain serving as a battalion chief, or some other designation. While it is easy to think about riding up in a paramilitary style organization, assistant chief administrative officers (ACAOs) are often asked to “ride up” into the chief administrative officer (CAO) role for their local government.

There are really two forms of riding up as an ACAO, formal and informal. The informal riding up happens frequently, usually when the CAO is caught up in a meeting and department directors, elected officials, or other staff may come to the ACAO for guidance or to make a decision. Formal riding up occurs when the CAO sends out a memo or email to the governing body and staff to designate the ACAO as the “acting” CAO in their absence. This usually occurs when the CAO is going to be on extended leave or a planned vacation.

“When the cat is away, the mice will play.” This phrase, with the image shown below, was placed on my door the first time that I was formally designated to ride up as the CAO. While it was put there as a joke by staff, little did I realize the hidden messages that it held for an acting CAO:

1 Talk to the CAO Before the Departure. Set ground rules with the CAO and make sure that you understand the CAO’s expectations. Are you authorized to sign purchase orders or contracts? Does the CAO wish to be notified of any particular issues (crime, personnel issues, fires)? What cadence of communication is expected with the elected body? While you cannot

JEFF WECKBACH

is the assistant township administrator for Colerain Township, Ohio. He is the recipient of an ICMA Early Career Leadership Award in Memory of William H. Hansell Jr.

possibly think of every scenario, having an open dialogue sometime before the formal riding-up designation can be extremely valuable.

2 Testing the Waters. Elected officials, employees, and the general public will push boundaries in the absence of the CAO. I’ve seen purchase requests placed on my desk that were previously denied by the CAO. I’ve had an elected official suggest that the CAO verbally “approved” a permit before they left. While not ideal, it is perfectly okay to ask if the issue is urgent or if it can wait. Usually, the answer to that question provides the insight you need to know if the request is genuine.

3 Make a List. Inevitably, there will be one or two items that you will want to follow up with the CAO on when they return. Keep a running list of those interactions for reference. When operating as the acting CAO, you will see an uptick in your interactions with staff and the elected board, and the days will fly by. A list will help keep you grounded in your decisions, provide you with something to reflect on, and give you a tool to help update the CAO on everything that happened in his or her absence.

4 Provide Space. Most CAOs want to feel like they can disconnect, but rarely are able to. Following the previous three suggestions will help to allow the CAO to feel comfortable in their time away from the office and provide them an opportunity to disconnect. It also provides you, as an ACAO, with a taste of what it is like to be the CAO to help inform you if you might be ready to take the next step in your career progression.

Riding Down While we have spent a good deal of time focusing on what it means to ride up, probably more important to organizational congruency is the ability of an ACAO to “ride down.” Far too often, a department director or key staff position will become vacant for some reason or another. As the ACAO, we are often tapped to take on the extra responsibility in the interim while a replacement is found for the position. As Focusing your organization on constant succession planning will create a more resilient organization and ensure that the culture of your organization is able to survive from manager to manager.

the ACAO, we are provided a luxury in these moments to learn more about the day-to-day of the organization and provided insights into opportunities for needed training, coaching, and employee growth.

In my experience, I have had to ride down on a few different occasions and learned something unique from each experience. In fact, as I write this article, I am currently riding down in the public services director’s seat. Below are some key takeaways from my time riding down:

Succession Planning: I’ve quickly learned that succession planning needs to be integral to your organization. With the Silver Tsunami rising high above our heads, we must do everything we can to grow internal talent. Far too often, while riding down, I’ve realized that we have talented employees that have not been included in succession planning, making them a year or so away from being prepared to take the next step. Focusing your organization on constant succession planning will create a more resilient organization and ensure that the culture of your organization is able to survive from manager to manager. It will also help to shorten the length of time that you ride down.

Opportunity for Change: A transition at any level of the organization is an opportunity for change and a newly hired department director or employee is going to inherently want to make changes when they are hired. While riding down, you may also feel compelled to make changes. You are presented with a unique opening in those moments to try to new things and implement incremental change that might have been subject to prior roadblocks. The benefit of making changes in these moments is that your newly hired employee will get candid feedback from the rest of the employees about the changes that were not effective. And for the changes that were effective? They will become “the way we’ve done it” for employees and survive the transition period.

Take Care of Yourself: Taking on the added responsibility of an additional role is a large task and one that can quickly overburden you. In my experience, I have struggled with ensuring that I maintain the proper worklife balance in these moments. I’ve learned that I may need to leave a task or two unfinished, especially if it can wait. While these moments are difficult because I, like many of you, have a passion for moving the organization forward, it is important to realize that if you do not take care of yourself then you will not be able to take care of your organization.

At times, it may feel as though the “A” in ACAO stands for “adaptable” as the ACAO is often tapped to ride up or ride down. These experiences help to ensure that communities across the globe are able to function in the absence of key employees and ensure that all of the community is able to receive the same level of service they desire of their government.